


flashforward and we're takin' on the world together

by MrsNoraPalmer



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M, listen okay, or is subpar, so if it makes no sense, that's why, this idea started out as like half dream half fic idea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-28 23:37:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17192354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsNoraPalmer/pseuds/MrsNoraPalmer
Summary: Shortly after Nora Darhk breaks out of time prison post season 3, Ray goes after her. Six months later, the Legends finally notice he's gone. They go to look for him and get the surprise of their lives when they find him. This got like completely away from me so enjoy the length!





	flashforward and we're takin' on the world together

**Author's Note:**

> So this started out as like a dream/random idea to help me sleep last night and then it spiraled this morning into this thanks to soph and beth as per usual. Twelve pages later, here is the fic, I hope you enjoy!

Sara hadn’t noticed at first. And at first ended up being six whole months. The first month or so they spent in Aruba on vacation. When they got back, Wally had joined the team full time and Sara had no idea he liked doing dirty dishes as much as Ray.

So it continued to go unnoticed.

It being Ray’s absence. In those six months there were not any giant concerning anachronisms, no need to run out and need a man with a dwarf star powered suit, they figured he was QB with John or even Charlie once Sara got through to her and she was stuck looking like Amaya.

That all changed when they actually needed Ray.

“Gideon, where is Ray?”

“Dr. Palmer has not been aboard the Waverider in six months but I can do a scan for him in any year you request.”

“WHAT?”

Zari pokes her head in. “Hey we’re not going to mention this to him either right?”

“No…” Sara sighed. “Could he have just gone home? To Star City? Gideon do a search for both Ray and the Atom in Star City 2018.”

Gideon ran the search on Ray first and what she found had Sara rounding up the team immediately and plotting a course for Star City 2018.

Each and every last picture of Ray was with Nora Darhk.

He’d been kidnapped. _Again_.

xxxx

Nora found him in the middle of the living room under a mountain of disassembled wood pieces. She covered her mouth in an effort not to laugh. This man had four PhD’s and built his own dwarf star powered suit but could not seem to build a piece of furniture from IKEA.

She leaned down to kiss the top of his head and made her way into the kitchen. She made herself a cup of tea and stirred it quietly while she watched Ray work.

“You still have another three months or so before that needs to be done.” She giggled. “You don’t have to get it done today.”

“I know but I’m worried if I don’t get it done now those three months will fly by.”

She chuckled and settled down on the floor next to him and nudged him gently. “Like the past six months?”

Ray wrapped an arm around her. “Pretty much.” He kissed her softly. “Hmm good morning.”

“Morning handsome.” She ruffled his hair. “Other than this, what did you want to do today?”

“I was thinking we could go take a walk, it’s a beautiful day and the park has a really nice nature trail.”

She pulled him in for a sweet kiss. “Sounds good.” She was about to kiss him again when the doorbell rang. “Who could that be?” For a while anytime someone came to the door, even if they were expecting takeout, Nora was scared it was the Time Bureau there to take her away. Now, she didn’t tense up, still a little cautious, but so much had changed in six months, even if they did come for her, the outcome now would probably be different than before.

She stood up and smiled. “I’ll get it.”

Ray nodded and went back to tackling the wooden monstrosity before him.

Nora went to the door and without even looking in the peephole swung the door open. Her eyes widened. No it wasn’t the Time Bureau but his teammates. Sara, Zari, and Nate all stood with mouths agape on the other side of the door.

Sara recovered first. “We’re looking for Ray,” she said in a defensive tone.

Ray came up behind Nora and smiled. “Oh hey guys!”

“Ray! You’ve been gone for six months! And all you say is ‘oh hey guys?’” Sara asked.

“You didn’t even notice he was gone for those six months. Some teammates you are.” Nora crossed her arms across her chest and glared.

Sara ignored her comment. “So you’re not kidnapped?”

“What? No. Maybe we should talk about this inside…”

“Yeah… sounds good.”

Nora stepped aside, sideways now and that’s when they all noticed it. Her baby bump.

“Oh MY GOD DUDE YOU KNOCKED UP NORA DARHK.” Nate tried to cover his mouth but he had already made his outburst.

Sara glared. “Apparently there are a lot of things to talk about.”

xxxx

The trio stepped inside and Nora and Ray shared a look as the door shut. They all stood, refusing to sit in such a heightened situation.

“So let me get this straight, Darhk’s heir apparent here kidnaps you and you guys hide in plain sight and you get her pregnant?” Sara asked and crossed her arms over her chest.

Nate, eyes wide, “dude this is worse than when I kissed the dominator thinking she was your mom.”

Ray made a disgusted face. “This is absolutely not worse. And for the last time I am not kidnapped. This is my well now our apartment.” He wrapped an arm around Nora lovingly. “You guys don’t have all of the facts.”

“Yeah, Ray, let’s start from the beginning.”

“Okay well, Aruba right? We were all vacationing there but my mind was elsewhere…”

xxxx

_Ray wasn’t sure when Nora would break out but when the news did break, he knew it would be only a matter of time before he could actually find her somewhere in time._

_The team had been vacationing once again in Aruba as celebration for a job well done with defeating Mallus. His mind, his heart, everything was with Nora. He was wondering where she was, if she was safe and she’d broken out only a day before._

_Once he’d heard he slipped away when the team wanted to part and do tourist-y stuff. He went to the Waverider and started out small which was all he seemed to need to do. He asked Gideon to run a search for Nora Darhk in 2018 and there she was, in Virginia. His felt like he could breathe again. She was safe._

_He plotted a course back to Virginia 2018 and disembarked the Waverider with a duffle bag in his hand. This was his mission. Nora needed him right now more than the Legends did. He knew she could take care of herself but running wasn’t safe. And if she wanted to run he wanted to make it easier for her._

_He had set the Waverider on autopilot to take it back to Aruba so no one would notice and made his way to the small hotel he had tracked her to. When he got there he saw her leaving with nothing but the clothes on her back. He kept walking towards her, she wouldn’t hurt him. He just knew it._

_“You know, it might be easier to stay hidden if you changed disguises every once in a while.” He smiled._

_Nora, shocked to see him, batted his chest. “What are you doing here?!”_

_Ray smiled. “Running isn’t safe, Nora.”_

_“What’s my alternative?”_

_An idea popped into his head. “I think I’ve got a plan. Come with me, Miss Darhk.”_

_xxxx_

_After renting a car, they arrived in Star City. It had been so long since she was there. Scenery passed by her like a wave of ghosts in a haunted house. She wasn’t sure what made her agree to go with Ray but something about him always grounded her in reality. Made her see that things didn’t always have to be hard and complicated no matter how broken she was._

_They stopped at one of the nicest apartment buildings she’d ever seen. A tall tower of apartments with a doorman and everything. She looked at him, confused. This was his plan?_

_“Where are we?”_

_“We are at my apartment.” He smiled._

_Nora furrowed her brow. “Your apartment? You live in this building? The hell?”_

_“We can hide in plain sight and you don’t have to worry about food or shelter.”_

_“We?”_

_“That’s right. It’s my apartment after all.”_

_Nora rolled her eyes and got out of the car. “There better be a spare bedroom, nerd.”_

xxxx

“So you made the conscious decision to hide a fugitive of the Time Bureau and not tell us?” Sara asked.

“It wasn’t safe, she wasn’t safe. She didn’t and still doesn’t deserve to pay for crimes that she committed while being possessed by a demon.”

“That’s not your judgment call, Ray.”

“She’s the mother of my child, I think it’s my judgment call now.”

“Yeah about that, what are you two thinking? Did you think this would never catch up with her? You guys could just raise your weird half science-y half demon witch child and never get caught?”

“Our child will not be half demon, Nora is free from that. She still has magic but she’s not evil anymore. She’s going to make a great mom, to our perfectly human child that can just do cool wizard stuff like Harry Potter.”

Nora made a face. “What did I tell you about making that reference.”

“It’s campy, I’m sorry.”

Zari looked between them, completely baffled at Ray’s affection towards someone that had tried to kill, maim, and at one point succeeded in kidnapping him. “How did you get from just wanting to hiding her in your apartment to this.” She gestured towards Nora’s swelling stomach.

Nate smirked. “Well you see, Zari when a dumb science-y boy and a witchy lady fall in love they…” Zari smacked him square in the chest and cut him off.

“Not funny, you know what I mean.” Zari crosses her arms over her chest.

Ray sat down on the couch and pulled Nora into his lap, worried if he let go, they’d take her away. “I mean, it just sort of happened… I don’t regret a single thing though.” He stroked a hand up and down Nora’s spine.

_xxxx_

_They’d been there for two weeks. Ray did not in fact have a spare bedroom, most of his guests were usually of the romantic nature before he stopped living there full time and so turning his office into a spare bedroom was never a priority. No family visited him and if a buddy needed to crash, his couch was plenty comfy._

_He had volunteered to sleep on the couch the first few nights so Nora could have privacy and normalcy. When they originally got settled he almost immediately went back out and bought her a whole new wardrobe which she insisted was not necessary and tried to get him to go down to just a few basics she could cycle through and pajamas._

_Now they were sharing the bed. It started with a particularly bad nightmare of Nora’s. She didn’t want to be alone. He had crawled into the bed and held her close. Not wanting to be alone either if he was being honest with himself._

_They slept next to each other from that night on. Now they were winding down for bed and Ray let himself indulge in the domesticity of it all. Nora looked positively adorable in her pajamas as she came out of the bathroom and Ray settled into the bed and waited for her._

_She got in next to him and he was about to turn out the light when she touched his arm._

_He turned to her and cocked his head. “What’s up?”_

_“I realize that in the two weeks I’ve been here, I haven’t said thank you for all of this…”_

_“Nora, you don’t have to…”_

_“Yes, I do. You’ve given me a second chance and helped me be a better person in just the two weeks we’ve been here. You’ve kept me safe and given me shelter. I owe you my life.”_

_Ray waved her off. “Nora it was nothing. You deserve a second chance and you deserve to be safe and warm and… loved…” He stared at her, hoping she would take it in a more general sense even though he already knew he was completely and utterly in love with her._

_Nora moved her hand down from its place on his bicep and intertwined their fingers. “It’s not nothing.” She leaned in and kissed him softly. She used her free hand to cup his cheek. Time stood completely still as Nora Darhk and Ray Palmer kissed for the first time._

_She moved to straddle him and pulled off her T-shirt. Ray pulled away, confused._

_“Nora… what are you…”_

_“I’m taking advantage of my second chance, by spending it with you.” She whispered and threw her arms around his neck, ready to properly thank him. “I want this, so don’t tell me to stop unless you don’t want this too.”_

_Ray nodded and pulled her in for another kiss and then flipped them so he was above her. “I love you.” He caressed her cheeks._

_“I love you too.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “I love you so much, Ray Palmer.”_

xxxx

“Two weeks is an awful short time to declare your love for someone,” said Zari.

Ray shrugged. “I’d known for a while how I felt about her. And maybe to most we moved fast and the baby definitely wasn’t planned but she’s no less loved.” Ray placed a hand on Nora’s growing stomach and Nora placed her hand over his.

“It’s a girl?” Sara asked.

Ray smiled. “We found out a few weeks ago. Ever since then we’ve been putting together the nursery and I was building that evil thing, when you guys rang the doorbell.” He pointed at the crib and Nora laughed.

“It’s not evil you just can’t read Swedish, honey.” Nora joked and ran a hand through his hair.

“It could be in plain English and it still wouldn’t make sense.”

“Well this was the only crib we could agree on so we better figure it out or our little Victoria will be sleeping on the floor.”

“You guys have a name then?” Sara asked.

“Victoria Eleanor Palmer. We’re happy, neither of us thought six months ago that this is where our lives would end up but we’re really happy happy.” Ray squeezed Nora just a little bit tighter and she smiled down at him. “Are you here to take her to the Time Bureau?”

“No… we should but that’s not why we came. We finally noticed you were gone and…”

“You guys didn’t jump to this point? You literally didn’t notice he was gone for six whole months?” Nora asked, clearly annoyed that her assumption was right.

Sara cringed. “We’ve been busy but we also haven’t needed Ray’s specialities… it seems he’s had his hands full anyways.”

Nora shrugged. “I was a bit of a mess at the beginning of the pregnancy…”

xxxx

_Nora’s hands were shaking. She had bought three tests while Ray was out on his jog. She had been suspecting for a few days now and when she saw her window of opportunity, she took it._

_She waited patiently for the tests to be done. Hopefully all before Ray got back so if they were negative she wouldn’t disappoint him, and they were positive… she would have time to process before she told him._

_The timer beeped and she sat still for another minute. Should she look? Should she wait for Ray? The moment of truth was upon her and any plans she had made about what she would do were changing. She decided to rip them off like bandaids, turning all three over at once without looking at them and the finally stared down at them all._

_Each and every last test said one life changing word: Pregnant_

_Tears sprung from her eyes. She was having a baby. Ray’s baby._

_They hadn’t even really been a thing for very long. She knew she wanted to “take advantage” of her second chance and own up to her feelings for Ray but she didn’t realize that “own up” meant “get pregnant”. She heard the door open to the apartment and quickly threw the tests and their boxes in the trash. She washed her hands and came out to the living room as if nothing happened._

_Ray greeted her with a smile and told her not to come any closer because he was sweaty. Her heart suddenly surged. She was having this man’s baby. She wanted to badly to just blurt it out, yell from the rooftops but she also want to tuck it away and process the very scary fact that she was going to be a mother._

_Nora Darhk, former demon vessel for Mallus, former villain, was carrying a tiny little bean that would soon become a sentient human being to depend on her for everything._

_She took a deep breath and Ray looked at her funny but she just waved him off and told him to get his stinky self in the shower._

_She was flipping through the tv when about five minutes into Ray’s shower she realized: the tests. She had forgotten the tests were in the trash. In the bathroom. That Ray was showering in._

_Maybe he wouldn’t see them?_

_Shit who was she kidding. He’d see them and the second he did, she knew he’d come running out._

_But to her surprise, nothing. She heard the shower turn off, she heard him rustling for a minute probably for a towel, and then silence. He had shut the door to the bedroom so she couldn’t actually see if he was in the bedroom or the bathroom still. Her heart rate picked up. His silence was killing her._

_Wait, what if he saw the tests, and didn’t want this?_

_An image flashed through her mind: Nora, heavily pregnant, alone, scared, walking the streets of Star City for her next bit of shelter and maybe her next meal if someone took pity on her._

_No, there was no way. Even if he didn’t want to have a baby with her, Eagle Scout Ray Palmer would never just let her be homeless and pregnant on the street._

_She shut the TV off completely and watched Ray step out into the living room. Slowly, cautiously, his eyes red rimmed like he’d been crying._

_“Ray… is everything alright?” She slowly stood from her seat on the couch. Could he be angry at her for letting this happen so soon?_

_“The… I saw… the tests… they’re… yours…?”_

_Nora nodded. “Yeah… Ray, I know that it’s soon but…” she couldn’t finish her sentence because she was being swept up in Ray’s arms and kissed square on the lips._

_“You’re pregnant?”_

_“I am.” She smiled. “I just found out before you got home I wasn’t sure how to tell you or if you would want it…”_

_“Of course I do. I want it and you and I love you and wow oh my god you’re having my baby!” He hugged her tight and spun her around. “This is the best thing that’s ever happened me. Next to you of course.”_

_Nora blushed as Ray sat her back down. “That’s sweet… I don’t know why I was… afraid you wouldn’t want this…”_

_“I want this more than you could ever know…”_

_“Then I guess we’re having a baby!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. As she stood there in his arms, her smile slowly faded. Ray was going to be an amazing dad. But would she be a good mom?_

xxxx

“You guys seem okay now… anything else new we should know? Don’t tell us you guys got married or something.”

Nora shook her head. “No, we haven’t…” apprehension filled her voice. It wasn’t exactly something they had talked about. In all of their playing house, as Sara called it, the one thing Ray hadn’t done was put a ring on her finger. She had at one point wanted them to be married before the baby came so it would make things less complicated later on but as her stomach grew bigger and the time until her due date grew shorter, that seemed less and less likely.

“We just want to make sure Nora is safe. And our baby of course. That’s always been the top priority.”

“So you’re not coming back to the Waverider with us?” Zari asked.

“No, my life is here now, with Nora and Victoria once she comes… if you guys need me, I’ll be there but I have a family I have to be responsible for now.” He rubbed Nora’s back comfortingly and she leaned into him.

Sara shook her head. “Ray, I thought we were your family, all of us, the Legends. You left us six months ago and didn’t say a word. I thought we meant more to you than that.”

“You guys do, and I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, I figured you would’ve noticed in six months but when you didn’t and Nora found out she was pregnant… I knew I had to make a choice and that choice was stay here with my family.”

“That’s fair… we’re sorry, Ray, we haven’t exactly treated you like the asset to the team that you are. And you made a family that does appreciate you… we’re really sorry… we’ll let you guys be. And we promise not to tell the Time Bureau.”

Ray hated seeing his friends like this. They were still his friends, they just let life get away from them. “Guys… it’s okay… it all worked out, I have been able to have something I’ve always wanted and have let slip through my fingers time and again because you guys hadn’t noticed I was gone. If you guys ever need my help or Nora’s help, you can always call on us, okay? I’m not letting you guys leave on bad terms.”

“We’re gonna miss that optimism on the Waverider.” Sara shook her head and smiled softly. Only Ray could turn the shitty thing they did into something positive.

Ray and Nora stood and Ray hugged Zari, Nate, and Sara and then returned to Nora’s side.

“We’ll let you guys know when our little Tori arrives, she should be here sometime in January.” Ray said as he wrapped and arm around Nora.

Sara clapped his shoulder. “We might need you before then buddy, but thanks for the heads up.”

Nora had sat there, listening to her boyfriend give these people chance after chance. And one of the last things they were saying to him as ‘hey we’ll need you eventually so be prepared to lay down your life, okay bye….’ oh no. She wasn’t going to let that slide.

“He’s not going anywhere.”

Sara looked at the previously silent Nora Darhk and tilted her head. “What?”

“You guys waltzed in here after six months and expect Ray to just feel obligated to the same loyalty he had to you all six months ago? He has a family that appreciates him now and more pressing responsibilities and I am not going to let you try and recruit him back to the Legends no matter how part time it sounds, because I am not going to let him go out there and get killed because your guys’ recklessness and leave my daughter without a father.”

“Ray’s a big boy,” Sara said and started to get in Nora’s personal space. “He can do whatever he pleases and if that means getting away from someone who six months ago tried to kill us all, then he can do it.”

Nora started charging at Sara but Ray caught her arm, the action didn’t seem to phase Sara but made Nate step back, now quite scared of the tiny pregnant former demon vessel.

“Nora, it’s fine, really, if they need me, I’m not going to stop helping people, we’ve talked about this.”

“You helping out occasionally in Star City is a lot different than hopping through time on dangerous missions. And I’m not going to let these idiots get you killed.”

“Hey we’re not idiots…” Nate started but Nora’s glare made him shut right back up.

Nora sucked in a breath. “I’m not letting you take him away from me.”

Ray pulled Nora into his side and kissed the top of her head. “They’re not, even if I go help them, they’re not going to take me away from you.”

“See.. Ray’s right…” Sara offered.

“I don’t believe you,” Nora said, still glaring at the three Legends.

“And we don’t trust you so I guess we’re even. We’ll be going now, we promise not to turn you into the Time Bureau.”

Ray smiled at them. “Thank you for protecting our family. I’ll talk to you guys, soon, okay?”

“We’ll be seein, ya, Ray.” Sara said and made her way with the others to the front door.

When they left Nora smacked Ray’s arm. He recoiled and rubbed where she had hurt him.

“What was that for?”

“You can not possibly be considering being a Legend again. Are you stupid?”

Ray shook his head. “No but if they need my help…”

“They should’ve asked for it months ago or realized you were gone. They don’t deserve you, Ray. I barely do.”

Ray drew Nora into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “You know that’s not true. I’m the one that doesn’t deserve you.”

Nora rolled her eyes. “We have been over this…” She shook her head and smiled at him. “But, I really don’t want you helping the Legends at least not until after Tori is born. Deal?” She helped up her pinky to make him pinky swear.

Ray locked pinkies with her and smiled. “Deal.” He kissed her softly. “Now… I was going to do this when we went on our walk, hopefully I would’ve had the crib built by now too as an added bonus but I want you to know, for sure, for sure, that I am not going anywhere, Nora Darhk.” Ray smiled at her and got down on one knee. He pulled a small box out of his sweatpants pocket and opened it. An engagement ring. “If the rest of our lives are like the last six months I never want to spend to spend my time away from you. You’re my whole life, you and our baby girl to come. Will you marry me, Nora?”

Nora, tears flowing freely down her cheeks, nodded frantically. “Yes, of course, I’ll marry you!”

Ray stood back up and slid the ring on her finger. He took her face in his hands and kissed her sweetly. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


End file.
